Captain Chris of the fv CODZILLA - PT. JUDITH, R.I. was pretty upbeat about the cod fishing he has seen lately...and it might be the right time to get into short sleeve and flip-flop wearing summer cod and multi-species trip!

The two trips I had planned for this weekend had to be merged into one for this Sunday, July 29th. I finally have a full crew of 6, full tanks of diesel, extra jigs and hopefully "Fish Counter Bob" will come through with some fresh shell bait which is very hard to find at this time of year. He had at least 1/2 bushel at the boat this afternoon and he is going back for a few more tomorrow during low tide.

Personally, I never dunk clams at this time of year (especially with all the hordes of sand eels around) but their good to have even as back-up...or....for the crew shipping out on Sunday, bring your cocktail sauce as Bob plans to shuck and serve all the freshly picked and chilled on ice cherry-stones as we motor drift jig for Cod!!! What other boat would even think of such a thing!!! A weak cold front will move through tomorrow afternoon setting the stage for a gorgeous day on Sunday...and I will post-up a report on all the action as soon as I get to my chair Sunday night. Standby....

Next trip might be on Tuesday, July 31st....weather looks absolutely beautiful with light and variable winds and we should still have some pretty good leftover tides from the full moon tomorrow....I will post-up by mid morning on Monday so pay attention and call, text or email if your interested. Might be a good day to call in sick and / or leave the "honey to-do list" for another day....

The pic above in this report is something I really want to have a peek at very soon...its one hell of a big wreck broken in two and right on the edge of two significant depths...I have been waiting to look at this for a long time and perhaps its almost time this summer.

Studying charts and spending time at the various libraries from Mystic, Ct to Woods Hole, MA. reaps great rewards for those who are willing to actually open a book (unheard of in this day and age of iPhone everything) and do the research. Amazing what you can find....and none of it is on the "Capt. Seagulls" googan charts you buy at the local bait shops...complete with inaccurate GPS numbers and wrecks that don't exist anymore (beaten down wooden dust)...

The infamous and wreck master of all time, Tim Coleman, editor of "The Fisherman" was a top student of wreck hunting and his methods are still very relevant today....I was fortunate to have known such a great man and he is remembered and honored on FV Codzilla...

Today started a bit on the nautical side but once we got to the grounds we only had a very minor ground swell to deal with and it was "game-on" with the "Winter King" who is quickly becoming the "Summer King" in these parts...and who doesn't love to catch Cod in a tee shirt? And catch we did, despite the warm 73 degree water...a big improvement from last week and very steady action all day thanks to yesterdays full moon tide cycle...really makes such a difference.

Oddly, we started at slack tide and caught fish on virtually every drop, steady and consistent but much different than most trips where we usually have that one "magic hour" where we catch a pile and it shuts down. It was steady as I have ever seen it....every drift we picked away at a few fish...and although most were very nice mediums / markets, we did have a few brutes that pulled drag and were lost on the big head shakes / rolls the bigger fish are known to do...couple heart breakers lost just shy of the gaff.

Also to note, the "endangered" Dogfish also had a very strong showing today....twisting up in the gear causing havoc and mayhem...top deckhand "Fish Counter Bob" had his hands full all day and every rod was re-set multiple times to keep pace with the action!

By days end we boxed 60 Cod, 20+ Sea Bass, one very nice Fluke and another lowly Starfish (released of course) which seems to be the good luck charm for the FV Codzilla!!! Another side note, the offshore grounds were alive and well with all kinds of sea life...whales, birds and some of the biggest schools of sand-eels I have ever seen...stacked like chord wood 10-15' off the bottom. Hopefully this epic summer run of the "Winter King" will continue...we shall see!!!

This week I am hoping to get out either Tuesday (July 31st) or Wednesday (August 1st)....it all depends on the weather and if we can get enough interest...I have two spots sold for Tuesday and need four to make it a trip....$150pp if we can get all six spots filled (If not, the price goes up on a sliding scale...sorry). Call in sick to work and put your "honey to do" list aside...catch some summertime Cod while they're here!!!

In short sleeves no less!!! Call, Text or Email me anytime...I do reply to all messages....